Somewhere to Hide (The Estate, Book 1)

by Mel Sherratt

  ‘Don’t be silly. That hasn’t anything to do with my decision.’ Liz shook her head. ‘Kevin will find me wherever I go. But I’ve spoken to Josie and she’s setting us up in a flat. She’s going to reinforce the doors and locks as part of the domestic violence program initiatives. She’s also going to set up a telephone system like yours so I can contact the police if I need to.’

  Cathy was astounded. ‘You’ve certainly thought it through,’ she said.

  ‘Yes, but only because you gave me the confidence to do so. You’ve become my friend, I hope, as well as my confidante. And if you’re up to it, I’m going to need your friendship much more when I leave.’

  Cathy felt herself blushing at Liz’s straight-forward talking. She wasn’t used to compliments: that someone liked to spend time with her. She smiled. Putting aside all selfish thoughts of how she’d enjoyed having the two of them around, she hugged Liz.

  ‘You don’t get rid of me that easily,’ she told her, holding back tears. ‘Has Josie got anything lined up for you?’

  ‘There’s a flat come empty in Preston Avenue. It’s near to Suzie Rushton, from the community house? Josie says we can keep an eye out for each other.’

  ‘That’s great.’ Cathy tried to sound enthusiastic but if Josie had a flat empty, she knew the system. Liz would have to be out of there within a fortnight.

  ‘Would you like to come with me to view it?’ Liz asked. ‘I’m going tomorrow afternoon, half past two. I’d really like your opinion.’

  Cathy nodded. ‘Sure, why not?’

  Later back at home, Cathy sat quietly sipping hot coffee. In just under three months she’d watched Liz start to believe that a life without Kevin was possible. That she could do this by herself – fend for herself and Chloe. Still, she might have helped her to gain confidence, but inwardly she cursed herself. It had been great having Liz around to talk to. She was nearer to her age than anyone else. She could have a laugh with her; discuss stupid, light-hearted things, like the men in their shorts when there was only football on the television. Or the latest gossip in Heat magazine and last night’s episode of Frankie.

  More importantly, she’d really enjoyed having Chloe around. That little girl had brought extra rays of sunshine into the house. She was everything that Cathy would have hoped for in a daughter: bright, intelligent and caring. Chloe was always asking Liz how she was, always using her manners. Her parents might not have got along but between them they had done a great job of bringing up Chloe. If only Liz could keep Kevin from getting his claws into her, she might not be too damaged by what she’d been through so far.

  Yet although she didn’t doubt for a second that Liz thought she was confident enough to live alone without Kevin’s interference, Cathy had seen it all before. She’d helped no end of women who had moved on from there to a new place, only to let their men move back in with them again. A few of them had learned the hard way, ending up with more bruises and mental scars. A few had even come back to stay before moving on again. Each time the women were adamant that their men were going to change; most of the time they never did.

  Still, Cathy stood up and stretched her arms above her head. No matter what happened in the future, she would be there for her.

  A few minutes later, Liz joined her. She turned to Cathy with a smile and held up a box of chocolates. ‘Got these for tonight. And I thought I could treat you to a takeaway?’

  Cathy rubbed her hands together. ‘Fantastic. As long at it all comes with a bottle of red, I’m good with it.’

  Liz laughed. ‘You and your bloody wine. At least I won’t turn into an alcoholic in my own place.’

  ‘Just promise me that you won’t let that useless shit back into your life, once my back is turned.’

  Liz tried to look insulted at the suggestion but broke out into a smile eventually. ‘I am scared about going it alone but I have you, and Josie, to help me out. Even if it’s just for someone to talk things through with, I don’t feel so alone anymore.’ She held a hand to her chest. ‘And I promise you faithfully, Cathy Mason, that I will do my best not to let him get to me. So half past two tomorrow?’

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  While Cathy and Liz went to meet Josie at the flat, Jess and Becky sat in the back garden. Two sets of legs and arms were warming in the afternoon sun, two sets of brightly-coloured toenails wriggling about.

  ‘If I moved out, I don’t think anyone would miss me,’ said Jess matter-of-factly.

  ‘I would,’ said Becky.

  ‘Yeah, right.’

  ‘I would!’

  ‘I bet Cathy would be glad to see the back of me. I’m always bringing trouble home. I try not to but it just happens.’

  ‘Me too, lately,’ Becky confessed.

  ‘Yes, but you’re not as bad as me. I’m a runner for Sam Harvey.’

  ‘What’s a runner?’

  ‘I take drugs to people. They pay me cash and I take it back. Sam gives me a cut.’

  ‘Of the drugs?’ Becky was shocked.

  ‘Sometimes.’

  ‘But aren’t you scared that you’ll get hooked?’

  ‘Sometimes,’ she repeated.

  ‘Do you like taking drugs?’

  ‘Not if I end up like Cheryl. She was really nice looking at one time.’

  ‘Oh?’

  Jess got to her feet. ‘Wait there.’ She was back a few minutes later and handed Becky a photograph.

  Becky peered at it but didn’t recognise the girl sitting next to Jess at first. Then she brought it nearer and peered at it again. The girl was tanned, dark hair styled in an updo with just enough strands hanging down for it to look sexy. She wore make-up, her full red lips pouted at the camera and she had huge dangly earrings. Her smile told of happier times. More noticeably, she looked healthy.

  ‘Is that Cheryl?’ Becky said in disbelief.

  ‘Yep.’ Jess flopped down beside her again. ‘That was only taken the summer before last. She was a real stunner until she got hooked.’

  ‘Aren’t you scared of looking like she does?’ Becky recalled how thin Cheryl had been the last time she’d seen her: wasted even, her skin the colour of milk, her eyes dark puddles of oil.

  Jess shrugged. ‘But what else is there to do around here if we don’t get high?’

  ‘Plenty.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘Maybe we could go out and not get bladdered all the time.’

  ‘Like going to the flicks or out shopping?’

  ‘Or working together?’

  Jess turned slightly to look directly at her. ‘Now you are talking silly! Me, working. What would I do?’

  ‘I thought maybe we could get a job in a bar. We could say we were eighteen.’

  Jess pointed to her temple. ‘You’re mad, do you know that? Why would I want to work my arse off for a pittance?’

  ‘Don’t you ever have dreams, goals and all that?’

  ‘Of course I do, but being brought up on the Mitchell Estate soon knocks it out of you. Just like it will with you in time. It sucks living around here.’

  ‘Maybe we could be waitresses or something?’ Becky wouldn’t be put off.

  Jess tutted. ‘I’m not being anyone else’s slave.’

  ‘It was only a thought. It’s ages yet until we go to college.’

  ‘That’s if I bother with college.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Just because you’re thinking of doing the same course as me, it doesn’t mean that I’m definitely going to enrol.’

  ‘That’s a bit mean.’

  ‘I meant I’m not sure I can be bothered.’

  A stroppy silence fell between them.

  ‘We could do more things together,’ Jess ventured. ‘Look out for one another.’

  Becky smiled, secretly pleased. She’d enjoyed having someone of her own age around to confide in, have a laugh with, go shopping with and discuss boys.

  ‘Like bessie mates?’

  ‘Yeah. Would you want t
o?’

  Becky nodded. ‘I might. What about you?’

  They looked at each other and shared a shy smile.

  ‘Deal?’

  ‘Deal.’

  ‘So what shall we do tonight?’

  ‘I fancy stopping in and having a laugh with Cath,’ Jess surprised Becky by saying. ‘What about you?’

  ‘Is this it?’ Cathy sounded exasperated as she looked around the tiny flat.

  ‘Yes.’ Josie wasn’t put off by her tone as she followed her back into the living room. ‘This is it. What do you think, Liz?’

  Cathy didn’t give her time to answer before replying. ‘And you want to swap my house with its range of rooms for this tiny shed?’

  ‘Of course she does.’ Josie prodded Cathy lightly in the chest. ‘Don’t take any notice of her, Liz. She’s feeling low because you’re moving on.’

  ‘No, I am not,’ Cathy snapped.

  Liz touched her lightly on her forearm. ‘She’s winding you up. Even I can see that.’

  Cathy relaxed a little and licked her tongue out at Josie as a means of apology. If truth be told, she was still smarting over the quickness of everything. If she took this property, Liz would have to be moved in by next weekend or pay rent until she did. The property had to be occupied as soon as benefits were registered against it. But, as Josie had rightly guessed, Cathy had started to feel lonely already.

  ‘It’s okay, I suppose,’ she offered reluctantly. ‘Preston Avenue is one of the better streets on the estate.’

  Liz gazed around the square living room with its dowdy wallpaper and peeling skirting boards and gulped back tears. It was a far cry from her beautiful home in Douglas Close. But the maisonette was much better than moving in to one of the high-rise blocks, her biggest fear.

  ‘It will do fine.’ She smiled at Josie. ‘A lick of paint and a fair bit of elbow grease and it will be home in no time. When can I have the keys?’

  ‘Are you sure?’ Josie searched Liz’s face for the slightest glimmer of doubt but didn’t see anything. ‘You can stay at Cathy’s for a while longer.’

  ‘I’m sure,’ nodded Liz.

  ‘I need a few days to sort out the doors and such. How does a week on Monday suit you?’

  ‘What do you think, Cathy?’ Liz twirled round to face her. ‘Can you put up with us for that long?’

  ‘Suppose I’ll have to,’ she muttered. Then she winked at her. ‘I am going to miss you, though.’

  ‘See,’ cried Josie. ‘What did I tell you?’

  ‘I just love having you and Chloe around,’ Cathy stated. ‘Much more than anyone else I’ve had to stay.’

  ‘I’m sure I’ll be in your kitchen as much as mine,’ Liz soothed. She ran a hand over a bare wall, feeling the bumps and knocks of years gone by. ‘Besides, you’re going to help me to decorate, aren’t you?’

  Cathy tutted. ‘Trust me to get lumbered with that one!’

  Driving Rose home after she’d attended her afternoon luncheon club, Cathy was still smarting about Liz.

  ‘I’m really going to miss her,’ she told Rose. ‘It’s been great having her around.’

  ‘Nothing like having an ancient decrepit like me, then?’

  Cathy smirked as she changed gears. ‘You know what I mean. No one can replace you, you old hag.’

  ‘I like Liz, too. And Chloe’s a little darling. Such a sweet girl, despite her circumstances.’

  ‘And I hope she stays that way. This estate can change anyone if it gets under their skin.’

  They stopped at traffic lights. Cathy hummed along to the radio.

  ‘I’ll still worry about them when they’ve gone,’ she said.

  ‘They’re not far. You can visit every day if you like.’

  ‘I bet I’d soon get on Liz’s nerves.’

  ‘Once she settles, you won’t feel the need to see her so much.’

  ‘I suppose you’re right.’

  Rose patted her lightly on the knee. ‘And until then you’ll have to put up with me.’ She pointed to the pink gift bag popping out of Cathy’s handbag. ‘Have you been treating yourself?’

  ‘No, it’s for Becky.’

  Later that night when she was certain she could hear Jess in the shower, Cathy knocked on Becky’s bedroom door.

  ‘You going out tonight?’ she asked.

  Becky shook her head. ‘Jess has a date. I hate playing gooseberry.’

  Cathy marvelled at how mature she sounded. It was nothing like the young, frightened slip of a girl who had turned up on her doorstep at the end of March. Still, she knew she was vulnerable right now.

  ‘I have something for you.’ Cathy sat down on the bed and gave her the pink bag.

  ‘What is it?’

  ‘Open it and see.’

  Becky reached inside and took out a small box covered with purple velvet. She flipped open the lid. Inside was a ring, a simple silver band with a tiny pearl and a moonstone.

  ‘Do you like it?’

  Becky pulled it out of the box. ‘It’s lovely.’

  ‘When my husband died, I bought this.’ Cathy held a silver necklace away from her neck and showed it to Becky. It had a small locket threaded through it. ‘This heart reminds me of him. I feel like his love is locked away inside. When I feel sad, I clasp my hands around it and remember his love for me.’

  ‘I’ve seen you doing that lots of times,’ said Becky.

  Cathy smiled. ‘I thought you could do the same with the ring. When you feel sad, twirl it around your finger. When you’re ready to move on, if you feel like it, you can take it off.’

  Becky had tears in her eyes. Cathy touched her face gently.

  ‘It’s okay to be upset, Becks. It’s okay to get drunk, take your anger out on your body, but some time soon you will stop hurting. And then you will only have the memory.’ She took the ring and slid it on to Becky’s middle finger. It was a little loose. ‘You can come with me to get it altered. I just wanted to buy it for you. I got you this as well.’ Cathy opened another bag and took out a candle in a glass container. ‘Whenever you feel sad, light this and think of your baby. I light one up every year on my wedding anniversary and to mark Rich’s birthday.’

  ‘What about –’

  Cathy shook her head. ‘I don’t want to remember the day he died. I want to remember the happy times.’

  Suddenly Becky was crying. ‘I don’t want to forget it,’ she sobbed, ‘but it hurts to remember it.’

  ‘You have to think about it before it fades.’

  ‘How long will that take?’

  Cathy sighed, wishing she had the answer to that one. She still hadn’t got over it yet.

  ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘Some people get through it quicker than others. Some don’t get over it at all. You are the only one who can decide how it goes.’

  Becky sniffed. ‘I don’t want to.’

  ‘I know.’ Cathy nodded. ‘Believe me, I know.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Josie and Liz were sitting together during a break in the latest self-assertiveness session. They’d both sat through a harrowing discussion, listening to Alison Bennett. Alison had fled from her husband four times so far. Each time he’d found her and each time he’d dragged her back to their marital home and beat her to within an inch of her life. But she’d still left again. After the last time, she’d pressed charges and he got eighteen months. Instead of looking forward to the six months she had left before he got out, she was counting down the weeks until he would find her again. She was certain that he would. Josie hoped that wouldn’t happen to Liz. Despite her professional role, she’d become quite fond of having her around.

  ‘So are you all set for the big move?’ she asked her.

  ‘I think so,’ said Liz. ‘Although I’m pretty scared after listening to Alison just then. What happens if Kevin finds me?’

  ‘He will find you,’ said Josie. ‘There’s no way he won’t if he’s as determined as he’s always been.’

 
; ‘I know that. I meant that I hope he gives me and Chloe time to settle in first. If he sees how happy Chloe is, then he might back down.’

  Josie had no answer to that. ‘At least the security pack is in place now,’ she said instead. ‘I do wish I could offer you more in the way of safety but a personal alarm, property alarm and a reinforced front door is about my limit.’

  ‘It’s a start.’ Liz nodded gratefully. ‘And you never know, maybe Kevin will get bored after a while.’

  ‘That is when he eventually finds out that you’re not at Cathy’s anymore. Oh, I nearly forgot. I have something for you.’

  Josie rushed out of the room and came back dragging a black plastic bag behind her. She plonked it at Liz’s feet.

  ‘Curtains, cushions and covers,’ she explained. ‘One of my tenants, Dot, brought them in yesterday. Don’t worry – she’s one of my better tenants so they’re clean. They’re yours, if you like them.’

  Liz opened the bag and looked inside, expecting to see some garish sixties flowers or gingham checks but was pleasantly surprised to see modern aqua blue, coffee and chocolate swirls on a cream background.

  ‘They’re really nice.’ She smiled her gratitude. ‘I’ll take them, thanks.’

  ‘There are a couple of framed pictures in there too, and some decorative candles.’

  ‘I never checked to see if there were any curtain rails up.’ Liz delved into the bag again and pulled out two church candles and an unopened bag of pot pourri.

  ‘Two minutes ladies, and we’ll get back together.’ Josie waved a hand in the air to signify that the break was nearly over and then turned back to Liz. ‘That’s not a problem. I’ll get Matt to come over, if not. He’ll brighten any place up. And he’s such eye candy.’ Josie raised her eyebrows in a comical fashion.

  Liz shook her head. ‘Don’t even think about it. I’ve had enough of the one I’ve left. I don’t want to get involved with –’

  ‘Not you,’ Josie interrupted. ‘I would never suggest that after what you’ve been through. I was thinking more along the lines of Cathy.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘It’s never right that she’s on her own after so long. Rich died three years ago now. She gives so much of herself to other people that it’s time she found someone to look after her for a change.’